About the Author

"Virginia and Lee McAlester have both avocational and professional interests in architecture. Virginia, a Radcliffe graduate, attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She is a founding member and past president of the Historic Preservation League, Inc. (Dallas), and for nine years was Texas Advisor and a member of the Administrative Committee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She is co-author of The Making of a Historic District- Swiss Avenue. Lee, a geologist, is a professor at Southern Methodist University and was formerly Dean of the School of Humanities. From 1960 to 1973 he was Professor of Geology at Yale University. He has an active hobby interest in architectural history and has been involved in historic preservation in New England, Georgia, and the Southwest. The McAlesters live in Dallas, Texas."

Reviews

"Magisterial . . . The illustrated story of why our houses--great and humble and everything in between--look the way they do."
--Michael Tortorello, The New York Times "Once you've pored through Virginia McAlester's photo-packed bible of American home design, you'll be able to identify the saltboxes, Dutch colonials, and brownstones lining your own street, and you'll understand the historical significance of each one."
--Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly "The go-to resource for architecture spotters."
--Peter Terzian, Elle Décor "Chronicles the past 400 years of American styles, from wigwam to mobile to modern."
--Alexandra Wolfe, The Wall Street Journal "A classic."
--Pilar Viladas, House Beautiful "Encyclopedic . . . For lovers of historic homes, this is a rich trove of not just details, but reasons for them."
--Susan Clotfelter, The Denver Post "880 pages of scholarly wonder."
--D Magazine "The definitive guide to American housing styles."
--Jim Weiker, The Columbus Dispatch "Outstanding . . . Expanded and completely revised . . . Both scholars and average readers will find much to enjoy in this volume."
--Rebecca Vnuk, Booklist (starred review)